We all have that one friend that is very frightened of something small, like bugs, spiders, or mice. While those fears are relatively common, they don’t make a lot of sense. If you think about it, humans are much larger than bugs, spiders, or mice and in reality, we pose much more of a threat to them than they do to us. But, it’s different when our fears kick in and we fear that if we get any closer to a mouse, it will harm us in a way that we won’t be able to tolerate.
My best friend won’t get anywhere near snakes. Of course, I don’t blame her, mainly because the animal can be dangerous and isn’t the most pleasing to look at. But, even when we take a trip to the zoo, she will not go into the reptile section, afraid that she’ll have to come face-to-face with a snake. They give her nightmares!
It seems that humans aren’t the only creatures that are easily frightened by things that can’t hurt them. A family was on a safari when they were able to view a herd of elephants. Among them was a baby elephant. It paused as if watching the humans, then did something no one expected — it sneezed. And even more surprisingly, it jumped in fear at its sneeze!
Josh Plotnik, a researcher of elephant behavior and intelligence at the University of Cambridge and the head of elephant research for the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Chiang Rai, Thailand, was interviewed by Livescience and spoke explicitly about elephants’ tendency to get frightened by practically anything.
During the interview Josh shared this information:
“In the wild, anything that suddenly runs or slithers by an elephant can spook it. It doesn’t have to be a mouse — dogs, cats, snakes or any animal that makes sudden movements by an elephant’s feet can startle it.”
This comes as quite a surprise, given that elephants are large animals that can protect themselves with their sheer size. In a group, elephants are even more intimidating. However, we know that they are gentle, intelligent animals, so it is reasonable to assume that they would rather protect themselves by avoiding something that frightens them, rather than to stand and fight.
Whatever the reason, watching an elephant become frightened by its sneeze is hilariously adorable, so we encourage you to check it out, below!
